10 Strange American Traditions

Americans love sensationalism, and their media is happy to give it to them, couched in familiar and impossibly exaggerated language. That's why, for example, every couple of years a new "Trial of the Century" takes place in America. All past "Trial of the Century" court cases are collectively forgotten, as the new one proves to be so much more distasteful, repugnant, abominable (insert appropriate adjective!) than the last.

Often these trials involve celebrities themselves -- this is true from Fatty Arbuckle to O.J. Simpson to former President Bill Clinton -- but oftentimes the trials make celebrities (however willing or unwilling) out of ordinary citizens. Casey Anthony's court case is a good example of a recent "Trial of the Century" that launched a regular person into the intense glare of the media spotlight. Her fame brought her mostly public shaming, but the American public also went out of their way to roast her on social media sites. Chances are, though, that a few years from now, the stage will just be set for the next "Trial of the Century" to commence.